Debt to Scottish power

Winsterwonder_20

My elderly friend had her energy from Yorkshire energy who unfortunately went bust
at the end of December 2020.Scottish power took over and insist she owes £695 ,although she has been paying £63 per month on a D/D.
She has tried to get her meter readings from Yorkshire energy but the website won’t allow her in.Scottish power are not being at all helpful and insists she owes this money.She has smart meters which she insisted they came and read because they have been installed high up which means she would have to get a step ladder to read the meters outside.This is impossible for an elderly person do do.The read out display in her flat does not work because her internet is very often intermittent.She just requires copies of her previous bills so we can work out her account.When she was forced to leave Yorkshire energy she was £35 in debit which was taken out of account, and yet since Scottish power have taken on her account they won’t tell her how they have arrived at this enormous bill.Has anybody any idea how we can get copies of her energy bills from a defunct company.Any suggestions greatly received.

Robin9

Winsterwonder_20 said:

My elderly friend had her energy from Yorkshire energy who unfortunately went bust
at the end of December 2020.Scottish power took over and insist she owes £695 ,although she has been paying £63 per month on a D/D.

Does she have copy bills from YE - are there readings there taken from the SMART and letters A or C. If letters are E that means estimated and beware - it means YE and SP are guesssing.

That DD is a contribution to a kitty - it's not the bill for month - solely a contribution to a bill

Do some of your own calculations - on the meter will be a sticker showing the old meters reading and the date is was changed.

Read the meter now and calculate the consumption in kWh (easy if its electric) Assume 15p a unit and work out how much she should paid - adding 20p s day for a standing charge - and 5% for VAT. Deduct the number of £63 paid.

Send these calculations to SP  by letter headed COMPLAINT and let them argue with their figures.

Gerry1

Smart meters and the associated In Home Display do not use the internet.

Her smart meter has probably gone dumb but IIRC she should still be able to use the IHD to take a meter readings (in kWh for electricity and m3 for gas).  It may help if she moves the IHD as close to the meter as possible before taking a reading.

In any case, she should go on to SP's Priority Services Register and then if necessary someone can be requested to visit, take a reading and link the IHD to the meter.

Winsterwonder_20

No she can’t get a copy of the bills from YE as when we try and log in it says the site is now decommissioned.The supplier she had before YE was Eon and her account there was zero and thenher account with YE was £35 debit which she paid as well as he £63 d/d and the all of a sudden she appears to be using a lot of electricity because SP have told her she owes them £695.Her meter was read this mornin, only after we got in touch with the CEO of SP and they adjusted her bill but say she still owes this large amount.She can’t possibly be using this amount of electricity, she lives on her own.Is it possible the meter has gone defunct and can she get an independent electrician in to test everything?Thanks for your help anyway

Robin9

Go back to my earlier post but ignore the YE bit and hope that was correct.

Use whatever actual meter readings he has from SP and do those calculations and let us know how much you think he might owe.

welshmoneylover

Have you got the final read from the previous supplier before Yorkshire Energy? 

Use that and the latest read to calculate her usage , deduct payments already made and it will give you a ball park figure to go from there.
is she all electric? The £63 is a bit low if it is and it’s possible she has been underpaying for some time hence the debt.

[Deleted User]

Winsterwonder_20 said:

No she can’t get a copy of the bills from YE as when we try and log in it says the site is now decommissioned.The supplier she had before YE was Eon and her account there was zero and thenher account with YE was £35 debit which she paid as well as he £63 d/d and the all of a sudden she appears to be using a lot of electricity because SP have told her she owes them £695.Her meter was read this mornin, only after we got in touch with the CEO of SP and they adjusted her bill but say she still owes this large amount.She can’t possibly be using this amount of electricity, she lives on her own.Is it possible the meter has gone defunct and can she get an independent electrician in to test everything?Thanks for your help anyway

You can ask the supplier to fit a check meter. However, if the check meter shows that the installed meter is functioning correctly then the supplier will raise a charge. Debit/credit balances mean nothing unless the balance is based on an actual smart meter reading or a reading taken by a meter reader or the consumer. Even then, the balance is valid for one day only. Similarly, monthly payments are also meaningless as they are just payments on account from which actual charges are deducted.

On a transfer of supply - whether it be consumer instigated (ie; a switch ) or by SoLR - a switch reading has to be agreed. The accuracy of this reading depends to a degree on how often the supplier gets actual meter readings. By the sound of it, YE was under-estimating usage which was reflected in a lower than it should have been opening reading with SP. In other words, there is now an overpayment to SP that should have gone to the failed supplier. The ‘good news’ is that bills going forward should be more reasonable but I suspect higher in usage terms than was the case with YE’s estimates. The best thing a friend can do to help is to check with SP that they are now getting smart meter readings. If not, the meter does need to be read periodically either by SP or a younger friend.

QrizB

Winsterwonder_20 said:

She can’t possibly be using this amount of electricity ...

What makes you think she hasn't used this much electricity?

Winsterwonder_20 said:

... since Scottish power have taken on her account they won’t tell her how they have arrived at this enormous bill.

Scottish Power aren't the mafia, if they've asked for a payment they will have provided a bill which explains exactly how they have worked it out. What exactly does the Scottish Power bill say? What are the meter readings it is based on and what is the tariff?

Winsterwonder_20

Thankyou. QrizB, It  turns out that SP appear to be using the same tactics as the “mafia”they have now agreed (after the regulator intervened) that they made a “mistake” haha, and they actually owed her £103 which they have now credited her with. Obviously she has now moved to a more customer friendly provider.